A 76-year-old Cary woman died Wednesday morning after she was hit by an SUV hit her on Ederlee Drive, police said. Her neighbors say not enough was done to prevent her death.
Cary police identified the pedestrian as Soile Lazarz. She was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts by first responders.
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Emergency crews responded shortly after 7 a.m. to an Ederlee Drive crosswalk near Peregrine Place. Police said a black SUV hit Lazarz.
The driver and children who were passengers in the SUV were not injured. No charges have been filed.
Several neighbors of Lazarz told WRAL that they've filed official complaints about the crosswalk with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Town of Cary going back years.
They say the signs around the crosswalk aren't enough to alert oncoming drivers.
“It shook me to the core," Bob Fennel, one neighbor, said. “All the emails and letters and all this -- we don’t see any [change].”
“I knew this was gonna happen," Gary Bowen, another neighbor, said.
Bowen wanted to demonstrate the problem for WRAL. He stood on the sidewalk as if he were about to cross the road, and several cars flew past him faster -- it appeared -- than the posted 40 mile-per-hour speed limit.
“One person’s killed. One family’s life is changed forever. And the person that hit the person – their life is changed forever too," Bowen said. "From my point of view, it was all preventable.”
WRAL reached out to the NCDOT and the Town of Cary asking who is responsible for maintaining the crosswalk, what changes have been made following complaints and if future changes are planned following this accident.
A NCDOT spokesperson says the department is ultimately is responsible for maintaining the crosswalk, although Cary was involved in recent improvements.
The spokesperson also said that plans are in place for a "Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon" to be put in place at the crosswalk in Fall of 2028 but plans "could start sooner."
Ederlee Drive near Regency Parkway is back open.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Cary Police Department’s non-emergency number at 919-469-4012.
